polar circuit #4 call for proposals

concept:islands is the fourth polar circuit workshop and residency for media artists and researchers. It takes place in the summer of 2008 in the Finnish part of the Baltic Sea archipelago.

This call for proposals is for:
-    themes/concepts for 1-3 islands (deadline July 1st 2007)
-    project/workshop proposals for island #1, “ecology & media arts practices” moderated by Tapio Mäkelä (deadline August 1st 2007)
-    infrastructure: concepts/solutions that shape the residency, remote participation, mesh-up networks… (deadline August 1st 2007)

Proposals for themes/island

Up to 15 participants per island will be both invited and selected based on proposals stating interest, and a project or shared workshop proposal (submitted by August 1st 2007.) Each island has moderate housing, good cooking and varying technological settings. The idea of having an island per thematic is to provide a more intimate discussion and collaboration environment. There are no fixed rules, however, so participants are free to re-camp to other islands/themes during the residency. And of course, for canoeing, dinners and show and tells all participants get together.

When you propose a theme, you also propose yourself as a moderator and a coordinator for an island. I will be responsible for the coordination for island #1 and assist on setting up the other islands. During the residency, with basic premises set, each island needs to sustain itself. The funding for the project will be fairly moderate, providing maximum flexibility and no pressure to produce an exhibition or the like at the end. The likely level of support each island has is Internet connectivity, a form of electricity, housing, cooking facilities, and a boat.

The exact timing and location is decided upon the duration and facilities needed by the proposals. The likely timing is August 2008 for 2-3 weeks.

Island #1: ecology & media arts practices
The theme for island #1 is “ecology & media arts practices”. Island #1 is an opportunity for artists and researchers engaged in ecology and sustainability to develop and share ideas – and to produce experiments on the island. The Baltic Sea has severe ecological problems caused by over-nutrition, loss of oxygen, and heavy metals in its sediments. I am hoping that some, but not all proposals would deal with the Baltic Sea. Alternative energy solutions may also be part of proposals. It should also be noted that 2-3 weeks are not enough, on an island, to develop advanced electronics or software from the scratch. The proposals should build on existing research, or be very blue skies concept development for brainstorming. Workshop proposals, however, can also be about tinkering and experimenting on a low-tech scale or based on sharing texts and work already realized. I am also hoping to receive some proposals that work with radio or mesh-up networks in the context of ecology. I will personally work with a game oriented project using green algae

Infrastructure
Ad Hoc networks and other activities should be also proposed for the workshop. A few canoes, wind surfing boards, rowing boats, and the like will be part of the available resources. You should bring what ever you can, though, with you. The minimum is to bring your own computers and electronics.

Output
The primary output is dialogue, experimentation and ideas. concept:islands is not a game yet also game like proposals are welcome. It is not a TV-reality show either. Possibly at the end there could be a mainland event or a boat ride, where participants present to a wider audience. The project is represented primarily through moblogs, podcasts and wikis – forms and media designed by the participants.

History
Polar circuit is a workshop and residency series developed by Tapio Mäkelä that began in 1997 in Northern Finland. With later editions of 1998 and 2000, polar circuit workshops have brought together nearly 200 media artists for 3-8 weeks to collaborate, cook, workshop, and interact under the midnight sun. Organized in a very low budget manner, there was no pressure to produce visible results to a public at the end of each session. Participants would however produce a lot of new work and start collaborations, many of which are active today. Also a loose network of polar circuit participants keeps in touch. This network also facilitated a Solar Circuit workshop in Tasmania, Australia in 2002.

Participants will receive a letter of invitation and they are expected to seek funding for travel and sustainability from their countries of residence. The project as a whole will distribute its funding for project resources and production. Funding will be applied for in Autumn 2007 based on the theme+participant proposals. Project is in August 2008.

Proposals should be sent to:
tapio - at the domain of - translocal.net
the subject line should include “concept:islands”